Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $25.10, but opened at $26.19. Upstart shares last traded at $25.6240, with a volume of 803,021 shares.

Specifically, CEO Paul Gu purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.55 per share, with a total value of $1,277,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 130,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,321,500. This represents a 62.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPST has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Upstart from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Upstart from $80.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Upstart from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Upstart in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Upstart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.75.

Upstart Stock Up 2.0%

The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.60 and its 200-day moving average is $29.68.

Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $364.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.74 million. Upstart had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 7.13%. Upstart’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Upstart Holdings, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upstart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPST. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Upstart during the second quarter worth about $254,000. Gemmer Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Upstart by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 29,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 4,314 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upstart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $248,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Upstart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,074,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of Upstart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $348,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the company’s stock.

Upstart Company Profile

Upstart Holdings, Inc operates a cloud-based lending marketplace that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess borrower creditworthiness. The company partners with banks and credit unions, providing its proprietary AI models and underwriting platform to facilitate consumer credit products. By focusing on non?traditional data points—such as education, employment history and other real?time indicators—Upstart seeks to improve approval rates and lower loss rates compared with conventional credit scoring methods.

Upstart’s core offering centers on unsecured personal loans, which borrowers can use for purposes such as debt consolidation, home improvements or major purchases.